Wade Henderson's Remarks at the 2009 Hubert H. Humphrey Civil Rights Award Dinner
Speech by Wade Henderson on May 7, 2009
Thank you, Maureen [Bunyan], for that great introduction. As in previous years, we are blessed with two gifted emcees – one from broadcast journalism and the other from the world of public policy. Tonight, we are fortunate that Maureen Bunyan has joined us again as she has for many years -- and that Maria Echaveste has come back for a return engagement. I want to thank Maureen and Maria for doing a great job.
We are holding our 33rd annual Hubert H. Humphrey Civil Rights Awards Dinner at a remarkable moment in our nation's journey.
Only last week, we marked the 100th day in office of our first African American President. In his first 100 days, and under difficult circumstances, President Obama has enacted an economic recovery program, established relationships with world leaders, and addressed issues on which action has been delayed for much too long, from health care to climate change.
During his news conference that evening, the journalists asked President Obama about the economy, the international situation, the influenza outbreak, and the torture memos. There was little mention of President Obama's heritage, nor of the progress that his presidency signals and symbolizes.
That's as it should be. What matters most is not President Obama's race but his record in office. But tonight, we should take note that President Obama's successful start is one of the best measurements – and one of the strongest motivators – for the recent improvement in all Americans' attitudes about racial issues.
Meanwhile, the very fact of the Obama presidency sends a powerful message of hope, dignity and possibility in this country and all across this planet. He is changing the ways that the world thinks about America; the ways that white Americans think about black Americans; and the ways that black Americans – and, I suspect members of every racial and ethnic minority -- think about themselves.
The Leadership Conference has always been bipartisan because we appreciate that there are friends of civil rights and social justice on both sides of the aisle. This dinner is named after one of the great legislative advocates for civil rights – Hubert H. Humphrey. And he was a great Democrat in every sense of that word. But we never forget that Jacob Javits, Hamilton Fish, and Edward Brooke – great Republicans all – were partners in the progress of the 1960's and 70's. We are proud that Bob Dole is with us tonight, just as he has been with us in so many great battles, and we join him in mourning the passing of his former running-mate and our great friend, Jack Kemp. Secretary Kemp's most recent contribution was as co-chair with Secretary Henry Cisneros of our National Commission on Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity. We will really miss him; and his generosity of spirit.
So it is in a spirit of progress, not partisanship that we can say that the civil rights coalition helped to make this historic moment possible. By enacting civil rights and voting rights laws; by registering millions of new voters; and by opening the doors of opportunity to education and employment, all of us and our organizations did our part to prepare this country for the first African American President.
As another great friend and leader whom we lost over the last year, the preeminent historian John Hope Franklin, taught us, history can be a winding and rocky road, but it does lead us upward, toward the mountaintop of justice. And we are also indebted to those who took us so far on our as-yet unfinished journey.
To his great credit, President Obama understands this. More than two years ago, during a commemoration of the great voting rights march in Selma, Alabama, he acknowledged that he is a member of the "Joshua Generation" that is continuing the journey that the "Moses Generation" began.
So, as Dr. King asked decades ago: "where to do go from here" on our journey toward justice? I think the answer is simple. We should revel in the progress that we have made; recognize the problems that remain; and rededicate ourselves to continuing the journey towards fulfilling our nation's finest, founding ideas.
At the Leadership Conference, we recognize that, in the Twenty-First Century, civil and human rights mean more than abolishing discrimination and disfranchisement – civil rights means expanding opportunities for education and employment, for health care and homeownership, and for full participation in every aspect of American life.
We're all rightly concerned that our country is in the midst of the worst economic crisis in half a century or more. Once again, those who already suffer most from discrimination now are suffering the most from the downturn. Throughout the nation unemployment is at 8.5 percent -- and that is a severe recession. But, among African Americans and Latinos, unemployment rates are over 13 percent and 11 percent respectively.
This recession threatens to throw many years of economic progress into reverse gear. Even before the current crisis, compared to non-Hispanic whites, African Americans and Latinos still earned only about 58 percent as much. Before the stock market tanked and home values took a dive, the median net worth of an African American household was only about $6,000, while white households wield 14 times as much wealth – more than $88,000.
These glaring inequalities in wages and wealth offer irrefutable evidence that, for all the progress that we have made, much more work remains to be done.
At the Leadership Conference and the Education Fund, we conduct research and advocacy about dozens of issues. But tonight I want to focus on five urgent concerns – education, poverty, immigration, health care, and voting rights.
First, in the Twenty-First Century, quality education is the measure of opportunity. If we don't have quality education for all, then all Americans will not be able to get and keep high-skill, high-wage jobs; to participate in public debates; and to be first-class citizens of an ever-more complex society.
But too many of the schools in poor communities in this country – from the inner cities to factory towns to rural areas -- are the opposite of opportunity. Their buildings are decaying. They are not wired for the Internet. The teachers often are not qualified for the subjects that they teach. And the classrooms are overcrowded. Here in Washington, D.C., we need only look at the difference between education in Anacostia and that west of Rock Creek Park, or between the District of Columbia and Montgomery County.
Together with their hardships at home, the inadequacies of public schools in poor communities go a long way toward explaining why there are 50 percent high school dropout rates among black and Latino students.
For a long time, we relied on moral arguments for educational equity. Now, there is a new element – the enlightened self-interest of the business community and all Americans. When the organization that I represent – the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights – was founded in 1950, the economy mostly relied upon and rewarded white men. But by the year 2050, non-Hispanic whites will no longer be a majority and our economic competitiveness will depend upon the contributions of every segment of society.
Second, if quality education is the door to opportunity, then persistent poverty is the starkest reminder of the denial of opportunity. Even before the recession began, official statistics showed over 12% of the population—36.5 million people—were officially poor. But when the real and rising costs of life's necessities were taken into account, over 17% were poor—16 million more poor persons than under the official measure.
By either measurement, there are far too many poor people in this country. That is why the Education Fund is working with the Center for American Progress on the "Half in Ten" Campaign to cut poverty in half over the next ten years. And we believe that this goal and the ways in which we would reach it are in keeping with the priorities and programs of the Obama Administration.
Ultimately, the moral challenge of our times is to lift up those who labor for low wages or are unable to find work. We need to raise the minimum wage, restore the right to organize unions, increase the Earned Income Tax Credit, provide job training and retraining for those who have been cast adrift in this economic crisis, and create jobs for willing workers to do.
That challenge – to lift up "the least among us" – was Dr. King's final mission when he journeyed to Memphis to support striking sanitation workers and gave his life before he had completed his work. That is one of many reasons why we support the Employee Free Choice Act, so that today's workers will be able to join together, to organize unions, and to lift their living standards.
Third, the civil rights community and the entire nation face the challenge of fixing our immigration system. Every reasonable person agrees that the system is broken. Every reasonable person agrees that the answer must not be to scapegoat some of the most vulnerable people in this country who do difficult jobs for low wages, no benefits, and few rights in their workplaces or their communities. We need to find a fair and workable solution; and I'm proud that the Leadership Conference has made a unique contribution to the cause by convening meetings of leaders of the African American, Asian American and Latino communities. Together, we can reduce the conflicts between economically vulnerable native-born Americans and economically vulnerable newcomers to this country.
Fourth, at a moment of new anxieties about global pandemics, we are reminded that more than 45 million Americans, including disproportionate numbers of African Americans and Latinos, are uninsured and that millions more live in fear that their coverage will be cut back, the costs will be increased, or that they will lose their insurance when they lose their jobs.
Alongside reviving the economy, reforming the healthcare system is on top of the agenda of the Obama Administration and the new Congress. We need universal health coverage, beginning with every family with children at home. And we need to make sure that health care professionals and healthcare institutions are accessible to people in low-income communities.
Fifth, we need to protect the right that makes it possible to defend all our other rights – and that is the right to vote. Over the last week, the U.S. Supreme Court has been considering a case that attacks the central premise of the Voting Rights Act and could limit the power of Congress to protect minority voters from harassment and disenfranchisement. This must not happen; and if it does happen, then we must respond. We must remain ever vigilant for our voting rights. And we must also continue to push for voting representation for the District of Columbia so that democracy's capital city no longer suffers from disfranchisement.
Next year, we will mark the 60th anniversary of the Leadership Conference. Back in 1950, even founders as visionary as A. Philip Randolph, Roy Wilkins, and Arnold Aronson could not have imagined the victories we would win, the challenges we would face, and the constituencies we would encompass. From generation to generation, the journey continues; and the dream will never die.
In order to step back, look forward and plan ahead, the Leadership Conference and the Education Fund conducted a weekend retreat for 70 leaders from a cross-section of constituencies, including the young in years and the young in heart. We met in New Orleans, amidst stark reminders of the nation's continuing inequalities and remarkable resilience. And we looked ahead to an ever broader, even bolder civil and human rights coalition, and the America that we can build, together, by the Leadership Conference's 100th anniversary, in 2050.
As we gather this evening, with so much to rejoice in and so much to rededicate ourselves to, we can take pride that this is still the same Civil and Human Rights Coalition, but with new victories, new constituencies, new technologies, and a wider focus than ever before. And we can take even greater pride that, thanks to our work, this is not the same America because the land we love is moving closer to the ideals we share.
Thank you all for everything you are, for everything you do, and for being here with us tonight.
